Why I Chose To Homeschool

Hi!  For those of you who don't know me, my name is Katie and I have decided to homeschool my children.  Welcome to my homeschooling journal.  I decided to keep a journal (via the blogosphere) for two reasons. So that my family and friends could follow along and so that one day my girls can look back and remember their homeschooling experience.  I decided to start homeschooling because I believe it is what is best for my girls. Speaking of my girls, here is my little family.

It consists of me, my sweet and silly husband of 7 1/2 years and my two girls who are just as sweet and silly as their daddy.  My oldest is a diva princess who is, on most days, 4 going on 16!  She loves to dress up, play with her miniature (extremely difficult to dress) princesses and talk.....ALL the time.

 My youngest, at almost 2, just likes to get into everything ALL day long.  But how can I get mad at her when she makes faces at me like this when I fuss at her.

Yes, she is sitting on her potty with her feet inside.  No, potty training is not going very well and don't worry there is nothing in the potty.  These two sweet hearts have me and their daddy completely wrapped!  It is my intention to treat these little gifts from God with the utmost care guiding and guarding their hearts along the way.  

Why Homeschool?

I have really already answered this question.  In a nutshell, I believe it is what is best for my girls. Before being a mom, I was a high school chemistry teacher for three years.  Only three years you say.....try telling that to anyone who has taught school.  It doesn't take long to realize teaching is tough.   At my first job, it only took me one week to go from wanting to change lives to survival mode.  And that was at a private school!  Don't get me wrong.  I loved teaching science and I miss it dearly and one day hope to return to it. 

Within those three years of teaching, I learned a lot of things.  These are just some of the things I learned:

1. There are a lot of bad teachers out there who let their students get away with murder and hardly teach a thing.  (It is funny how those teachers end up being the "favorite" teachers too.)  To give them the benefit of the doubt, I am sure they started out as a teacher who wanted to change lives but just got stuck in survival mode for too long.  
2. In most class rooms, a love for learning is no where to be found.  The sad truth is most teachers just try to get by.  Doing their best to stay afloat amongst all the paper work, reoccurring discipline troubles and unsupportive parents.  I know this because this is how I felt at times.  Especially when I got into the public system.  I did meet teachers who had a real love for their students and did their best to instill a love for learning.  Those teachers really are diamonds in the rough and should be given a medal in my opinion.  
3. God is not welcome in the classroom.  Ultimately, this is the main reason I chose to homeschool.  The sad truth is God is no where to be found in most classrooms.  It must be very difficult for children to attend Bible classes on Sunday morning and Wednesday night and then spend the rest of the week in an environment that does not welcome God.  In fact, I have been hearing a lot of disturbing statistics lately about how many young people are leaving the church after graduation.  It is scary.  

I want my girls to grow up in an environment that embraces God and a love for learning 24/7.  I am sure that I am the best person for that job.

 We started pre-school this week and are having a blast so far.  I intend to have post at the end of every week to highlight the awesomely fun things we have done for that week in school.  I hope you will follow along with us on our homeschooling journey.

Katie

If you are homeschooling or are considering homeschooling, here are a few resources that have really helped me and encouraged me in my decision to homeschool.